Louise Buck

We've never known her original last name, but Louise Buck started with Willie Stein and Canyon Tours in 1965, as a swamper on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. It was not until the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon (in 1969) that she became a Boatman. This made her the second female Boatman on the river.

She was described by as "about Jennlynn's height, but reminding her an awful lot of Ellen: they had the same strong, rugged build, the same weather-beaten face and skin, the same friendly, down-home smile".MC20

The boatman job was part-time and she spent most of the year as a school teacher. She was the leader for Karin Chladek's first Canyon trip in 1974. When the season ended that year, she found a note from her husband telling her to choose between him and the Canyon. She chose the Canyon and used the divorce settlement to purchase Canyon Tours from Willie, who at that time had an ulcer and wanted out of the business. DW67

Louise married Al Buck not long after that and the pair ran the business together for years. She was a trip leader for Crystal Chladek and JennlynnMC20 on trips each made. In 1998, while Al was leading a trip, she fell ill. He left the trip in Crystal's hands to hurry to the hospital. Al made it to her side before she died from cancer in June.AT16